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News Articles: Serum Institute

Covishield is the brand name used for the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured in India's Serum Institute, administered to millions of people, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. It's not on the list of approved vaccines for the European Union — although the AstraZeneca version made in the United Kingdom and at European sites is.

Opinion: I'm Nigerian. I'm Vaccinated. Europe Won't Let Me In

Europe lists four approved vaccines for travelers. There's an omission that makes Nigerian physician Ifeanyi Nsofor feel invisible — and disappointed.

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By:
  • Ifeanyi Nsofor
On June 25, people queued up to register for a COVID-19 vaccine at a site outside a Hindu temple in Hyderabad. Vaccinations are now being administered after a series of missteps led to a shortage of doses. If all goes well, India's public health agency hopes to be vaccinating up to 10 million people a day by late July.

India Is The World's Biggest Vaccine Maker. Yet Only 4% Of Indians Are Vaccinated

The Serum Institute began mass-producing COVID vaccines even before approval. They've made millions of doses. But so far only about 4% of people in India are fully vaccinated. What went wrong?

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By:
  • Lauren Frayer
An older person receives their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Thika, Kenya. The vaccine's manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, announced this week that it will freeze all exports of the vaccine through the end of this year — leaving 20 million people in Africa without a source for their second dose.

20 Million Africans Are Due For Their 2nd COVID Shot. But There's No Supply In Sight

African nations had been counting on Serum Institute of India for nearly all their COVID vaccines. Now the company says it won't be sending any more for months. And African officials are scrambling.

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By:
  • Nurith Aizenman
A technician waits to collect vials containing vaccine after they pass through a machine that checks for bottling and vaccine substance deficiencies.

The World's Largest Vaccine Maker Took A Multimillion Dollar Pandemic Gamble

NPR tours the factory of the world's largest vaccine maker: Serum Institute of India. It's manufacturing nearly 100 million doses a month of the Oxford-AstraZeneca formula and exporting them globally.

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By:
  • Lauren Frayer